CHENNAI: It was a face-off 18 years in the making! As the Kerala players were warming up before their opening match of the 63rd Senior National Volleyball Championships against Railways, Tom Joseph gave KJ Kapil Dev in the other half of the court a knowing smile.
Together they were not just two of India’s best players in recent memory, but also two of the most experienced campaigners in the entire tournament.
Both Tom and Kapil started together in the gold-winning Kerala team of 1997, which makes this the 18th consecutive nationals they are appearing in.
Though Kapil left for Railways after a couple of years in the Kerala shirt, his and Tom’s career have more or less paralleled each other.
“Tom and I are from the same batch. We both started together for Kerala and played together in the junior national team. Tom made his India debut a year before me,” says Kapil.
The similarities don’t end there. Both went on to captain the national teams. Kapil was awarded the country’s highest sporting honour in 2010, while Tom belatedly got his Arjuna last year. “I was very happy when he got that. They should have given it to him years ago,” Kapil says.
As talented as both of them are, 35-year-old Tom believes lady luck had a huge say in how their respective careers have shaped up over the years.
“I have been extremely lucky with regards to injuries. For being able to play in every match that Kerala has played during these 18 editions, you need some help from above and I have had exactly that,” he says.
For the 36-year-old Kapil, his favourite nationals moment was in his debut year, when Kerala won the championships for the first time.
“Every year, you come to the tournament believing you can win it and when you actually end up doing that, it is a sweet feeling. But that year when we first won with Kerala was extra-special.”
Kapil went on to win five more titles, one with Kerala and four with Railways. Tom comes off only marginally worse with four titles.
But ask the Kozhikode-born spiker what his favourite moment in a Kerala shirt was and you’ll get a confused stare in reply.
“It was all a blur. I have played with so many different players over so many years, it is impossible to pick out what my favourite moment was. It seems each year tops the one before!”
